A Helping Hand
by sUnKiSsT
Summary: Pete is in major trouble after being seriously injured when trying to stop a bank heist. Whats worse, camera's caught the entire thing so he cant go to a hospital. Will he die with his secret or will help arrive just in time? Post SM2 COMPLETE! YAY!
1. A Horrible News Report

**_Title:_** _A Helping Hand _

_**Rating**: K, for some language!_

**_Summary:_** _Peter finds himself in deep trouble when he tries to stop a bank heist and winds up seriously injured. He needs medical attention, but since everyone watched Spidey get hurt on TV he has no where to go. Help comes in the most unlikely places…Slightly AU Post SM2 _

**_Author Note_**: _Slightly AU. Everything happened from the second movie, minus one thing. Mary-Jane and Harry still do not know the identity of Spiderman. Before Harry could get the mask off, Peter escaped and found Ock and Mary-Jane on his own.

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**A Helping Hand **

_**Chapter 1- The News Report **_

Mary-Jane Watson drummed her fingers against the table; she had been sitting in this tiny restaurant for 30 minutes now. Her soft features were wrinkled into a bored frown as she studied her now cold cappuccino. Peter had promised to meet her here at 8pm, but so far there had been no sign of him.

They needed to talk, but had not had the chance since that crazy scientist had kidnapped her. She had run out on her wedding, realizing at the last second that she could not marry her fiancé, she loved Pete and that was that. After running down the streets of New York in her wedding gown, she had arrived at Peter's apartment door, only to find that he had not been home.

She left him a brief note explaining what she had done, and to call her as soon as possible, before slipping it under the door and leaving. He called her the next day, and that is how she ended up here. _Took two weeks for him to finally settle a time and he's late…again! _She thought annoyingly, brushing a piece of her hair from her eyes.

There was suddenly a small commotion at the bar. Mary-Jane tossed her red hair over her shoulder as she turned her head to investigate. The men at the bar were clamoring over a small TV erected in the comer. The young actress rolled her eyes and smiled at the males, assuming that there was some sporting event they were getting excited about. But as she continued to drum her fingers, she picked up on what the commentator was saying. The voice coming from the TV was excited but held a hint of fear and business like tone. _That doesn't sound like the usual joking and excitement of a sports commentator, _she thought.

Curiosity got the best of Mary-Jane and she headed towards the other end of the bar, where another TV was erected that was showing the same channel. She sat down in the stool and found herself watching a news reporter, the mans hair was disheveled, obviously from him running his fingers through it.

Beneath the reporter was a heading that read, **LIVE:** **BANK ROBBERY, HOSTAGES TAKEN!**

Mary-Jane gripped the edges of her stool tightly as she listened to what the man had to say. She recognized the bank; in fact, it was only 3 blocks away from Peter's apartment, and she seemed to remember him saying something about dropping off a cheque on his way over.

"_It seems that the notorious Spiderman is already inside. Hostage negotiators and police alike are worried that this may only aggravate the two men, who may shoot people in response-"_

The man was cut off as the bank doors flew open with a bang. A group of people were seen running outside, some of them crying.

"_The hostages! The robbers must of set them free...but wait…there's one missing. Where the hell is Spiderman anyway?" _

His question was answered as a gun was fired and a window shattered open, Spiderman flew out of it seconds later, landing in front of the bank doors, a young girl in his arms. His suit had a few cuts on it, but nothing that looked too serious.

Mary-Jane felt her pulse quicken, something was going to happen. This wasn't over yet. Where was Peter anyway? She had first thought that he maybe had been caught in the bank when the robbers had come in, explaining why he was so late, but he had not come out with the hostages…and they were all accounted for…

The woman glanced at the clock again; it was now 8:45. _Where the hell are you, Peter? _She thought, no longer angry but anxious for the photographer. She thought about phoning him again, but the TV kept drawing her to watch what was going on.

Spiderman had set the child down, and watched as she ran towards the police and safety. She had almost made it to safety when the shooters burst from the bank and into the open. They were dressed in black and wore helmets, obviously prepared for a gunfight.

One aimed his gun at the little girl, looking through the scope on his rifle. He was just about to squeeze the trigger and open fire on the 8 year olds back when his scope was blocked by the colour red. He looked up just in time to see Spiderman before his gun was ripped from his hands and he was thrown backwards.

Mary-Jane watched in amazement as the man flew in the air and landed in a crumpled heap. The camera had zoomed past the reporter so that viewers could see what was happening, although the disheveled reporter could be heard yelling and cursing in the background.

Spiderman turned quickly, and shot a string of webbing upward as the other man opened fire. A bullet cracked the brick building, where the man in red and blue had been half a second before.

Mary-Jane watched with wide eyes as Spiderman shot downwards again, the man had given up and decided to open fire on the innocent bystanders that crowded around the police and SWAT team. The man just barely ducked out of the way as Spiderman's foot swung past his head.

People were screaming, but none of them seemed to be moving away from the danger, too entranced by the sight. The police had their weapons aimed, but feared shooting in case they hit their hero. It seemed that not one of them believed the lies the Daily Bugle printed, at least, not after what they had just seen.

Then the unthinkable happened, something that no one had ever thought possible. Spiderman had landed and had rushed back towards the convict; the man turned his gun and opened fire again. The arachnid dodged the first few, and was only feet from his target before it happened. The man, in one last desperate attempt, aimed and shot once more, and this time, it hit Spiderman dead in the chest.

"_Oh my fucking god! He shot him! SPIDERMAN WAS SHOT! SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!"_ Mary-Jane heard the reporter yell, all of his professionalism lost in the moment.

The red heads hands flew to her mouth in horror. She watched as the shooter took a tentative step towards the wall crawler and aimed his gun at his head. The still form that lay on the ground made no move to stop him. A shot rang out, but it was not from the mans gun, for he crumpled to the ground beside the hero and did not get back up.

The camera moved upwards, and the tiny dot of a sniper could be made out, before it swung back to the red and blue figure on the ground.

"_It seems…it seems as if one of the snipers got a clear shot…"_ The reporter said, his voice shook with shock.

A group of people rushed towards the figure of Spiderman, but as they got close, the injured man forced one of his arms up and shot a web onto the highest building it could stretch, and shot upwards, much slower than usual. He was out of sight within a minute, leaving only a pool of blood on the pavement to prove that he had ever been there.

Mary-Jane stumbled off of the stool, and grabbed her purse. She ran out of the restaurant, abandoning her unpaid coffee. Not that it mattered; the bar tender and its patrons were still engrossed in what the news reporter was now saying.

The red head tore down the street, thanking god that she had decided on jeans and running shoes today. She sprinted through the streets of New York, not entirely sure why she was running 5 blocks to Peter Parkers apartment, but somehow knowing that that's where she would find Spiderman.

**TBC**

_I can't think of a better title; usually one just pops into my head but none thus far. Drop by a review; this is my first Spiderman fic! I have 12 pages of this written...and this only 3!9 more pages to post if you're interested in reading it ... ;) _

_¤ Ashley ¤_


	2. The Discovery

**_Title:_** _A Helping Hand _

_**Rating**: K, for some language!_

**_Summary:_** _Peter finds himself in deep trouble when he tries to stop a bank heist and winds up seriously injured. He needs medical attention, but since everyone watched Spidey get hurt on TV he has no where to go. Help comes in the most unlikely places…Slightly AU Post SM2 _

**_Author Note_**: _Slightly AU. Everything happened from the second movie, minus one thing. Mary-Jane and Harry still do not know the identity of Spiderman. Before Harry could get the mask off, Peter escaped and found Ock and Mary-Jane on his own.

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**A Helping Hand **

_**Chapter 2- The Discovery **_

Peter crawled through his apartment window, gasping in pain as he did so. He stumbled across the room, taking off his mask and throwing it into a corner as he went. _What the hell am I going to do this time?_ He thought desperately. He had been injured before, burns, bruises, gashes…but nothing, NOTHING this invasive.

"God…it hurts…" His whispered to himself as he collapsed onto his bed. _I can't just lay here like this…I need a doctor. _What kind of story could he make up though? Surely every hospital would be on alert for a man with a bullet in his chest. Everyone wanted to know who Spiderman was and this was the best opportunity to find out.

Peter felt his vision going blurry with the pain, and he let his mind think back on what had gotten him into this predicament.

He was supposed to meet with MJ, she wanted to talk and he couldn't blame her. It had shocked him when he found out that she ran out on her wedding, but he couldn't have slept better that night because of it.

Before meeting with MJ, he had decided to drop of the cheque the Daily Bugle had given him, another 300$ for yet another picture of Spiderman. Right after depositing it, his spider sense went haywire and two robbers, clad in black, had entered, carrying what looked like hunting rifles. He had just managed to slip into the shadows and change into his outfit before the men started screaming for everyone to get down.

He had observed what was going on first, not wanting them to start firing randomly in panic. After he had assessed the situation, he devised his plan and made his move.

He fought the two inside the bank, distracting them from the hostages. After leading them into the back of the store, he yelled for everyone to run outside. The terrified people ran for their lives, and all of them made it, minus one little girl. Her mother had run out to grab her cheque book right before the men had entered, and she had been alone the entire ordeal.

He swung over the heads of the convicts and grabbed the terrified girl, whispering that as soon as she was on the ground, she had to run towards the police officers. One of the robbers shot at the pair, but missed and ended up shattering a window instead.

As soon as he had the girl outside she ran as fast as her small legs would carry her. The men burst out of the bank less than a minute later, and Peter felt his blood boil when one of them took aim at the running girls back. He was in front of the rifle in an instant. "Pick on somebody your own size!" He growled at the man before grabbing the rifle and throwing the man himself into the brick of the building.

The remaining guy opened fire on him, and when he had gotten out of the way, the bastard had started to shoot at the civilians. It took him half a second to get back down on the ground and distract the madman, putting the attention back on himself. "Hey pal! Over here!"

_How do I always get myself in these situations?_ He had thought as he dodged the bullets being fired at him. He had lifted his fist, preparing to knock this guy into oblivion, ignoring his spider-sense, which had started to go haywire, when he felt it.

A horrible pain, nothing that he had never experienced before coursed through his chest. He groaned as the bullet tore through his suit and flesh. He had a sudden image of his uncle Ben as he lay there…now he new how it felt when his uncle was dying…

When the man had pointed his gun down on him…he did nothing to stop it, the pain and shock preventing him from doing so. _Mary-Jane…aunt May…god I can't leave them…_

"Good-bye." The man said and Peter could almost see the grin behind the mask.

He would never forget the whooshing sound of the bullet overhead, or the way the man had stiffened and fallen to the ground beside him.

When the sniper had hit his target, he hadn't known what to do and he panicked, desperate to keep his identity a secret. He shot a web and painfully launched himself upwards with a grunt of pain, praying that he would be able to make it home.

Well, he'd made it, and he had no idea what to do next.

"MJ is going to be mad…I'm late…again…" Peter said to himself, laughing lightly. He wondered vaguely if he would ever see the beautiful red head ever again.

_Get up Peter Parker. You are going to die on this bed if you don't get help, you're healing powers can't fix this one_, a tiny voice in his head whispered.

Peter looked down the length of his body; his suit was turning a darker shade of red as blood flowed from the wound. _Get the suit off, you have to get it off and hide it. Then call for help, say that you were mugged…something, anything! _He growled to himself.

He forced himself to stand, knowing that it was his spider healing powers that were keeping him from passing out. If he did not have them the likelihood that he would be dead right now was very high. Peter began to peel of the top part of the suit, biting his lip so that he didn't scream in pain.

He managed to get it off, and hid it under his bed. The blood from his chest wound was bleeding more freely now, and he felt lightheaded. Peter tried to lean down to get the pants off, but he couldn't, the pain was just to overwhelming now, and he could barely breathe.

Peter took one step to the phone, knowing that MJ would find a way to help him. Her finding out his identity was inevitable at this point. However, he never made it to his phone. The extent of his injury took over his body, and he fell to the ground as he passed out, not knowing that a certain red head was pounding up the stairs as he lay there, bleeding to death.

_Outside Peter's Apartment _

Mary-Jane was panting by the time she reached the outside of Peter's door; she had run the whole way without pausing for a breath. She knocked on the door loudly, calling his name.

"Peter? It's MJ, let me in!"

No answer.

She pounded louder, now yelling his name. She didn't know nor care if her racket was disturbing the owners of the small building. Luckily, they were out for the night, not that it really mattered to her anyways.

No answer, again.

She tried the handle, it was locked. Frowning, she observed the door and came to the conclusion that she should be able to kick it down; it was old and worn anyhow. She backed up, lifted her leg, and pushed it forward with all the strength she could muster.

The door groaned and burst open immediately. Mary-Jane stepped inside and turned on the light. "Peter? Are you here?" She called again, looking around carefully. As she walked inside more, she noticed something red smudged on the bed…blood.

She felt her heart plummet and her pulse began to race. She slowly walked around the bed frame and froze in horror at what she saw.

"PETER!" She screamed, falling to her knees to get a better look at her best friend.

He was crumpled on his side, a wound in his chest bleeding profusely. He was bare chested, wearing only red and blue tights…

"God, you are Spiderman…" She whispered, feeling lightheaded.

_Now is not the time to feel faint, girl!_ She thought to herself angrily, _Peter needs help, but first we need to get these pants off and give him some normal clothes…_

Mary-Jane fumbled around in her handbag, she kept a small pair of scissors in it, mostly for when her clothes had loose threads that needed to be cut. Finally she pulled them out and positioned them between Peter's skin and the suit.

Her hands began to tremble as she began to cut the fabric off, starting from his ankle and working her way up. She had never exactly pictured her best friend in nothing but boxers; in fact, she hadn't even seen him shirtless before. If it weren't for the situation at hand, she would have been very impressed by his toned and muscular body, a body that he hid under layers of clothes.

Mary-Jane quickly went over to his closet and picked out a pair of pants, loose ones that would be easy to get on. She also grabbed a loose t-shirt and dressed him as quickly as possible, careful not to upset his injury further. _What now?_ She thought desperately, knowing that every second wasted put Peter's survival chance significantly lower. It was a wonder that he wasn't already dead.

Suddenly she got an idea, and pulled out her cell phone. While she dialed the number, she prayed that her lying skills were as good as her acting ones.

"Hello?" Came the tired voice on the other end, after the third ring.

"Harry? It's MJ, I need you're help." She replied.

**TBC

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Bet you never thought she'd ask Harry for help eh? Lol, it's just a good thing he doesn't know Peter's identity! Oh, I'm sorry I didn't update sooner, we had a major thunderstorm on Monday and my entire street lost power until this morning (Thursday)…let me tell you...it sucked!

Thanks to all who left me a review, I love the advice and compliments!

Ashley ¤


	3. Waiting

**_Title:_** _A Helping Hand _

_**Rating**: K, for some language!_

**_Summary:_** _Peter finds himself in deep trouble when he tries to stop a bank heist and winds up seriously injured. He needs medical attention, but since everyone watched Spidey get hurt on TV he has no where to go. Help comes in the most unlikely places…Slightly AU Post SM2 _

**_Author Note_**: _Slightly AU. Everything happened from the second movie, minus one thing. Mary-Jane and Harry still do not know the identity of Spiderman. Before Harry could get the mask off, Peter escaped and found Ock and Mary-Jane on his own.

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**A Helping Hand **

_**Chapter 3- Waiting **_

"Harry? It's MJ, I need you're help." She replied.

"Hey, are you okay? You don't sound so good."

Mary-Jane allowed herself a small smile, Harry was genuinely concerned. "I'm fine…it's…its Peter." She whispered, tears now slipping from her eyes as she held her friends cold hand. "He was shot…"

"WHAT? Where are you? What hospital?"

"We aren't at the hospital, we're at his apartment."

"MJ, what are you talking about?"

"Listen Harry, I know that you have the money and the resources to get some people here right now to take care of him with no questions asked. Look, there's no time to explain but I promise I'll tell you everything if you do this." She said in a rush, the fresh shirt she had put on Pete was getting stained from the blood.

There was a short silence at the other end. "I'll have people over there in less than 10 minutes, he'll be brought here and so will you."

"Thanks Harry, this means a lot to me…to Peter."

"Just make sure he doesn't die before they get there, I don't think I can stand losing my best friend…" Harry's voice cracked and he hung up quickly.

Mary-Jane quickly hid Peter's suit before sitting down beside his unconscious form. She was in shock and she new it, if not she would be a basket case right now. She felt his forehead and found that it was clammy, but not freezing like his hands were.

Not long afterwards, two men were at the door. They barely acknowledged her as they gathered Peter on a stretcher and carried his limp frame to a black, unmarked looking ambulance outside.

_Meanwhile…_

Harry stared down at his cell phone, still in a state of shock. As soon as he had hung up with MJ, he phoned the appropriate resources, and a disguised ambulance was already en-route to Peter's apartment.

His hand shook visibly as he set the device down. He headed towards the door swiftly, knowing that he needed to unlock the doors where the doctors would do their work. Harry was just about to turn the handle when he hesitated and glanced back at his half finished drink.

Walking back quickly, he downed the amber liquid in one shot, savoring the burning feeling in his throat before turning back towards the door and leaving the study. He was half drunk and he new it, he also acknowledged the fact that this definitely wasn't the appropriate time, but how else would he numb the pain, guilt and sadness that stuck to him like the 'bugs' stupid webs?

_Outside Peters Apartment _

Mary-Jane gave his hand one final squeeze before he was quickly loaded into the vehicle. One man and one woman were already inside. The older, more weathered man that had come up to Peter's apartment followed and slammed the doors shut. The other led MJ to a plain looking car, and after they were seated, he started the engine and followed the truck that contained Peter.

As the two vehicles sped towards Harry Osborne's mansion, Mary-Jane stared out the window in a daze, thinking only one thing. _God I hope Peter Parker is just as invincible as Spiderman seems to be…_

The Osborne mansion loomed overtop of them as they passed through the iron gates. Both vehicles drove towards the far end of the property, where a set of double doors were. Mary-Jane got out of car, and watched as the people ahead unloaded Peter and wheeled him inside. They already had IV lines hooked up to him.

"Mr. Osborne is waiting for you inside, Miss. Watson." Her driver finally spoke for the first time, his accent was heavy, she guessed that he was from Ireland. She nodded and allowed him to steer her through the doors.

They were in a hallway. The floors were tiled, but there were paintings, some couches, a few nightstands, and a TV stationed throughout the hall, which was painted a chocolate brown. Mary-Jane immediately spotted Harry; he was at the very end of the haul. He was slumped over, his hands in his pockets, watching a second set of doors swing. Obviously the doctors had passed through them already.

She walked up to him; her driver had gone back outside. On closer inspection, she could see that the suit he was wearing was wrinkled. His face looked ashen, exhausted. He had the slight creeping of a 5 o'clock shadow and his hair was not gelled in place, but ran wild.

"Harry…" Mary-Jane said, putting a hand on his shoulder and forcing herself not to break out into tears again.

"He looks so bad, god MJ…what the hell happened? Why didn't you call an ambulance?" He whispered.

She couldn't tell him the truth, he loathed Spiderman. A partial lie had already formulated in her brain. She sat down on the nearest couch, and he followed, sinking into the cushions heavily.

"Did you watch the news earlier tonight?" She began carefully. _It's so hard to focus when Peter's in the next room, possibly dying…_She thought despairingly, _But I have do this right or his life will be ruined anyways. Harry and Peter may be friends but Harry hates Spiderman so much it may not matter in the end…_

Harry suppressed a laugh, he had cracked open a bottle of Jack Daniels at 7pm and hadn't left his room. It seemed that MJ forgot, today was the anniversary of his dad's death. "I've been home since 5pm and I haven't had any communication with the outside world since…well except my phone of course." He replied, right now was not the time to bitch, not when Peter was just barely holding on to life.

"Alright well, I'll start from the beginning…Peter and I decided to meet and go for a walk, you know, we needed to talk after the whole wedding thing…Anyways, we were close to his apartment and that's when we noticed that people were acting weird. They kept yelling some stuff about Spiderman. Finally, this one man came up to us and yelled right in our faces that Spiderman had been shot…in the chest…saving some people at an attempted bank robbery, and that he had slung off…leaving only a pool of blood in his place.

Pete and I didn't know what to make of it, so we just ignored the guy and headed towards his apartment. On our way there we were finally convinced, we walked by an electronics shop and it was airing a replay in the display window of Spiderman getting shot, and then jumping to footage of him shooting a web and disappearing…

I got nervous and upset, mostly because Peter doesn't live in the best area and everyone on the street was acting so strange…so…happy. We walked quicker, turned a corner and we were almost at his place when it happened…this man in an orange mask ran up to us with this wild look in his eyes. Peter stepped in front of me just as the man started to brandish a gun. (She had to re-picture what Peter had looked like when she had initially found him in order to get herself emotionally distraught for this last part of the lie) He was crazy Harry, said something like 'Spidey can't save you now' and just s-shot him…and then he ran away, laughing like a maniac…"

Harry stared at her, he was sure that the booze and lack of sleep was a playing part in why he couldn't fit her story with why she had called him and not the ambulance.

She seemed to detect the confusion in his eyes for she cried, "Don't you see Harry? Every hospital is going to be on the lookout for a man shot in the chest around the Spiderman incident. Peter was shot not more than 10 minutes afterwards. They'll think it's him, and even if they figure out its not, there will be some people who will always believe it, Peter's reputation and life would be destroyed just because of bad luck and timing."

_Now I get it,_ he thought as he rubbed his chin, the stubble scratching him slightly. "How'd you get him to his apartment? You said you were in it, not outside…"

"I don't know how, but he forced himself to walk, I half dragged, half carried him too. I think he new the risk of calling the police, he told me not to call them before he collapsed." Mary-Jane felt bad lying to Harry, she really did. _This is the only way_, she reassured herself.

"I new that you were the only one I could call, the only one I could trust. I figured you might have the money, people and equipment to help Peter and keep this all quiet. Of course, if you weren't able to help I would have been forced to call emergency services."

Harry gave her a sad smile and said, "It's just a good thing that my dad hated doctor offices and hospitals, he had this part of the mansion built especially for health care, right from standard check-ups to emergency health issues. All of those men and women you saw have been working for him since I was really young…and to them Osborne word is law. They won't tell a soul about tonight. I haven't been down here in ages, after dad died I stopped going to the doctor, and all of the Osborne specialists went to work at other hospitals."

"How did you get them here so fast?"

"They're always on-call. They get paid handsomely for the services they provide. My family hasn't even had to use most of them, but they get paid by a salary anyways." He explained.

_They get paid for not working? Where do I sign up?_ Mary-Jane thought incredulously, but she said nothing, it wasn't really any of her business anyways.

Harry checked his watch, 10:30 pm. Peter had already been in surgery for 30 minutes. "This could take a while. Do you want something to eat or drink?"

"I'm not hungry." MJ muttered, staring down at her clenched hands.

The young man sighed and leaned deeper into the sofa, it was going to be a long night.

**TBC

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Well what did you think? Remeber this is A/U :)

Thanks for the support!

Ashley


	4. Awakenings

**_Title:_** _A Helping Hand _

_**Rating**: K, for some language!_

**_Summary:_** _Peter finds himself in deep trouble when he tries to stop a bank heist and winds up seriously injured. He needs medical attention, but since everyone watched Spidey get hurt on TV he has no where to go. Help comes in the most unlikely places…Slightly AU Post SM2 _

**_Author Note_**: _Slightly AU. Everything happened from the second movie, minus one thing. Mary-Jane and Harry still do not know the identity of Spiderman. Before Harry could get the mask off, Peter escaped and found Ock and Mary-Jane on his own. _

_**REPOST OF CHAPTER 4**, I can't believe I forgot the first half of it!

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**A Helping Hand**

_**Chapter 4- Awakenings **_

_4 Hours Later _

Harry jerked awake at the sound of steady footsteps. Beside him, MJ sat bolt upright, staring at the door with an anxious look on her face.

A lady walked through them. She was wearing a white coat, her long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her face was expressionless; she was obviously a seasoned doctor who didn't let her emotions get in the way of her job.

"How is he?" Harry asked.

"He made it through surgery," She began, but frowned at the looks of utter relief on the two's faces, "He isn't out of the woods yet though. He lost a lot of blood; it's my belief that if he makes it through the next 24 hours he should be fine."

"Where is he?" Mary-Jane asked, her eyes were red from crying.

"The recovery room, second on the right."

The red head said no more, and swept past Harry and the doctor as she raced towards the door.

Harry rubbed his eyes tiredly. "How bad was the damage?"

"He punctured a lung, broke 3 ribs and the bullet nicked his liver. We almost lost him twice during surgery; I had to massage his heart to bring him back. Considering the circumstances, it's a miracle that he's alive. I've never seen such a case where the patient actually survived past surgery. You're friend is one extremely lucky guy." She said in a business-like tone.

"Thank-you Dr. Noble."

Dr. Noble smiled wanly, "Don't thank me just yet. There is still a chance he won't make it. Myself and two others are going to stay the rest of the night, just in case he takes a turn for the worse."

"Be my guest." Harry nodded.

_Meanwhile…_

Mary-Jane slipped into the room, feeling like she was trespassing. She looked at the bed hesitantly, and almost started to cry again at what she saw.

Peter was paler than she had thought was humanly possible. A breathing tube ran down his throat, and various machines were hooked to him through IV's. "Oh god, Peter…" She whispered as she scooted a chair as close as possible towards him and grabbed his hand.

She was relieved that there was no blood anymore, but wished that the constant beeping of the machines and the whooshing sound of him breathing weren't so loud. It really brought the gravity of the situation to light.

"P-Peter…I just want you to know that you're safe now, okay? You need to get better, New York needs you…and so do I…" She whispered, laying her head down and closing her eyes.

Harry leaned on the frame of the door with his hands in his pockets, watching the two figures quietly. He looked awful but he didn't care, in fact, it was the furthest thing from his mind. _You've been so god damn busy trying to find Spiderman that you completely shut out you're friends! Hell you almost got MJ killed at the hands of Otto! _He yelled at himself inwardly. A feeling of guilt and shame enveloped him as he remembered the last time he and Pete had actually spoken. It had been at the gala for John Jameson, when he had yelled at his friend and hit him.

Tears sprung into Harry's eyes at the thought._ What if he dies? What if I never get to apologize for that night? Damn you Spiderman, if you didn't exist Peter wouldn't be in this situation, and neither would I! _

Harry walked up behind Mary-Jane and pulled a chair over, sitting down beside his two true friends with only one thought on his mind. _If you survive what happened to you tonight Spiderman, I will kill you. No one gets away with killing my father, or playing a part, even unintentionally, in almost getting my best friend killed. I will avenge them if it's the last thing I do. _

The young Osborne new that he wasn't being rational, new that if Spiderman wasn't around MJ would be dead…as would he, but he didn't want to think clearly, he wanted that wall crawler dead, one way or another.

Mary-Jane looked at Harry and gave him a watery smile. "Do you think he's going to make it?"

"Yeah MJ, I do. Pete is tougher than he looks."

_I know…_She thought secretively about Peter's alter-ego. When he got better and realized that she new the truth, everything would change between them.

_Following Morning _

Harry frowned at the bundle of bloodied clothes in his hands. The doctor had given him the bag of cloth before leaving for the day.

He felt sick to his stomach looking at the all the blood that had soaked into the fabric. Feeling dizzy, he tossed the messy bundle back into the plastic bag, not bothering to unroll the shirt or pants and inspect them for himself.

If he had of he may have come to realize what had really taken place the previous night. He may have realized that he had just assisted in saving the life of the very man he had sworn to kill.

Walking back into the room that held Peter, he set the bag of clothing at the foot of the bed before taking a seat and doing what he had been doing before Dr. Noble had interrupted him; staring at his unconscious friend and MJ.

Sighing heavily, he unrolled the newspaper that was nestled beside him, and after staring at the colorful picture at the front of it (a blurry picture of Spiderman crumpled on the ground outside the bank) and glancing at the headline (**SPIDERMAN FEARED DEAD!**), he flipped it open to read the article.

The article wasn't very big; there wasn't exactly much for the writer to go on after all. She basically wrote about what had happened, and had a few quotations from doctors about Spiderman's chances of survival. _"Without proper treatment, he will die…unless of course he has an extremely advanced recovery rate…then he might have a minuet chance of survival…"_ One physician had stated bluntly.

Harry tossed the paper across the room and heaved a mighty sigh. Settling back in his chair, he rubbed his eyes and stretched his legs. He had already cancelled all of his meetings for the day. Business was important but he wouldn't leave Pete until he new for sure that he was out of the woods. He had also attempted to eradicate any thoughts of Spiderman from his brain; especially negative ones. (For this very reason he had not read **_The Bugle_** today). Reading that newspaper always got him more motivated to find the webhead and give him what he deserved. Right now he needed to focus on his friends, revenge on Spiderman would wait for another time.

_2 Days Later _

Pain, that's all he could feel, a burning pain in his chest…nothing he had ever felt before. Peter heard himself moan as he opened his eyes blearily, trying with all his might to remember what had happened to him.

His throat felt ragged and scratchy, and his body heavy. Once his vision had cleared, a chocolate brown room greeted him. A massive window was to his right, beyond it various trees, and a pathway that led into another building. A door was to his left, which seemed to exit into a hallway.

The room was huge, and the bed he was in was a king size and extremely comfortable. _This definitely isn't a hospital, _Peter thought in wonderment. _Where the hell am I? _Memories of the bank robbery flashed before him, he remembered entering his apartment, but he must have fainted not long afterwards.

Suddenly, he realized that he was not in his Spiderman attire; he wore a pair of his own pants, and no shirt at all. At first, he didn't panic; whoever had helped him obviously had money, so revealing his identity would not be beneficiary, in fact it would probably just lead to a lot of stupid reporters. He was still worried though, and wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

Peter tried to rise from the bed, but the pain overwhelmed him and he fell back into the pillows. _I thought I was supposed to heal quickly, _he thought, extremely annoyed. He was just about to try again when he heard footsteps coming from down the hall. He snapped his head towards the noise and felt his heart rate rise when a beautiful redhead entered the room.

MJ's eyes immediately shone with happiness at the sight of him. "Hey tiger, it's about time you woke up!" She said lightly, her smile stretched from ear to ear.

"MJ…" He rasped, completely shocked. She looked exhausted, her hair was tossed up in loose ponytail and her clothes were wrinkled. But to him she still looked like an angel.

She sat down beside him and took his hand. "Try and not talk too much okay? The doctor took the breathing tube out this morning so you're throat is probably going to hurt for a little bit."

"How…long…?"

"You've been out for just over three days, it's almost 10am."

"Where…are we?"

"Harry's mansion."

Peter looked positively alarmed at these words; his eyes grew wide with shock and worry. _Oh my god…does he know too then? Shit this isn't good...shit...shit...SHIT!_

"Peter _relax_, Harry doesn't know…I made up a story and he bought it…" She quickly explained what had taken place once she had found him and how she had saw the entire thing unfold on TV. She still felt a little guilty about lying to Harry, but did not relay these feelings to the hero.

"I always said…you were a great actress…" Peter joked lightly, once she was through. "Aunt May…does she know…?"

MJ shook her head and said, "I phoned and told her that **_The Bugle_** had you working around the clock, since you're the only one that can find Spiderman, it would make sense that they'd send you hunting for him."

Peter smiled, "JJ is probably going berserk with no photos."

There was suddenly a light tap at the door. Harry walked in, looking much better in a pair of black pants and green t-shirt. His hair was gelled back into place and even though there were still dark shadows underneath his eyes, his face had more colour to it.

He smiled when he saw that Peter was awake and talking. He still looked pale and tired, but he was alive at least. "Pete, man it's good to see you awake. The both of us thought that we were going to lose you." He said as he stood behind MJ.

_Act normal_, a voice in Peter's head commanded. "Thanks to you guys I'm still here." He replied.

"The doctor said you were really lucky; she'd never seen a patient pull back like you did."

_I guess my healing powers did play a part, _he thought.

Harry's pager suddenly when off, he looked at it and cursed. "Sorry guys, I have to run…duty calls."

"No problem buddy." Peter said scratchily.

"I'll be back later, oh and Peter? The doctor said that you should be okay to leave soon... as long as you get plenty of rest. You're welcome to stay here as long as you want."

"Thanks Harry but I think I'll be good to leave tomorrow. I need to visit Aunt May and finish a paper."

Harry shook his head in wonderment, "You almost died and all you can think about is finishing a paper? You're crazy, Peter Parker."

Peter chuckled but stopped abruptly when the pain in his chest and throat increased and he mumbled, "I'm already miles behind; I really need to start catching up, besides…I'll be fine!"

"I still think that you're crazy!" Harry called over his shoulder as he left the room.

As soon as his footsteps faded MJ asked, "So…do you really have a paper due?"

"Yeah, but I don't intend on working on it. I need to make an appearance as Spiderman so criminals don't get any ideas. Besides, if I don't show up at the Bugle soon, good old JJ might put two and two together." He replied seriously.

"What exactly is your plan?"

"I'm going to make my appearances at school, aunt May's, and **_The Bugle_** tomorrow and try to pretend that I'm okay. Then wait two days -if I can- and make an appearance as Spiderman. That should give me enough time to completely heal."

"Everyone thinks Spiderman is dead." MJ sighed.

"Which is why I need to make an appearance soon, criminals are probably going to get braver…thinking that I won't be there to catch them."

"Is 5 days enough time for you to heal?"

"Hmmm…it should be, I mean I've never been this badly hurt before but my healing abilities are extremely powerful." Peter said thoughtfully, he was completely ignoring the pain in his throat now, too eager to talk to MJ.

"I still…I still can't believe that you're him…" MJ said, her voice was low as she stared at him.

"What…disappointed?" He joked.

"The complete opposite, actually." She grinned. "I am going to worry about you a lot now though… "

"I can handle myself, no need to worry." He grunted as he struggled into a sitting position.

MJ cocked an eyebrow, and helped him.

"Alright…well most of the time…" He said sheepishly once he was comfortable.

"So…you saved me from the Green Goblin…and those muggers…and Otto…Wait, did you really kill Harry's dad then?" She asked.

Peter sighed and quietly explained what had happened after the Goblin had snagged him with his rope on the bridge.

"Oh poor Harry…he doesn't even know the real truth…" MJ whispered.

Peter nodded glumly.

The redhead noticed his sad expression and quickly changed the topic. "Peter…the day you were shot…we were supposed to talk about us…about our relationship…" She rambled.

"Yeah, I remember."

_I may as well just get it out there, _she thought nervously. "Pete, do you love me? I want the truth, did you reject me because of…because of…_this_?" She asked, pointing directly at his bandaged chest.

"I've loved you since I was 6, and nothing_, nothing_ has changed since then." He replied.

"Even though you said you didn't?" She whispered, staring straight into his blue pools.

Peter nodded seriously. "I care so much about you, and that's the entire reason why I had to reject you at the cemetery. I…I've already put you in the middle of so much danger by just being you're friend…if, if my enemies found out about you…Well, I just can't let you take that risk MJ."

MJ frowned and squeezed his hand tighter. "Peter, that's _my_ risk to take."

Peter didn't reply.

"Even if we aren't together, you aren't protecting me…I mean, this is New York City Peter, _anything_ can happen here. I mean I was attacked by those muggers and the Green Goblin at the fair, and at the time he didn't even know you're identity or the feelings you had for me…"

"But…" Peter started weakly.

"No _buts_ Pete, I love you and you love me back. You being Spiderman can't change the feelings we have and I want to face any challenge with you."

Peter couldn't keep lying to himself, and he couldn't let her slip through his fingers again. Like Otto had said all those months ago, keeping something as complicated as love bottled up inside can make you sick. "Any challenge?" He whispered, grasping her hand tightly.

"Any…" She smiled back, a feeling of euphoria engulfing her as she realized that she had finally gotten through to him. Leaning across the bed, she hugged him carefully, not wanting to hurt his chest. "Besides," She whispered, "Now you can protect me from danger more than was possible."

"And why's that?" Peter questioned, already knowing the answer.

"Because you, Peter Parker, are going to be spending a lot more time with me, disturbances permitting of course."

"I like the sound of that." Peter said back with a very large smile.

**TBC

* * *

**

One more chapter, this one wasn't meant to be very big. I have a fantastic idea for another one that will focus on Harry and Peter….it will be very dramaish and angsty…


	5. Return of the Spider

_**Title: **A Helping Hand_

_**Rating: **K, for some language!_

_**Summary: **Pete is severely wounded when trying to stop a bank heist, will he die with his secret or will he get the help he needs? Post SM2 Slightly AU _

_**Author Note: **Slightly AU. Everything happened from the second movie, minus one thing. Mary-Jane and Harry still do not know the identity of Spiderman. Before Harry could get the mask off, Peter escaped and found Ock and Mary-Jane on his own._

_**Warning: **There is a very mild sex scene in this chapter, nothing major but I still feel morally obligated to forewarn you. _

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**A Helping Hand **

**Chapter 5: Return of the Spider **

_**Next Day, Afternoon **_

Peter walked down the street slowly, he had just been to visit Aunt May, and now he was on his way to the Daily Bugle to give Jonah some decent pictures of Spiderman. He wished that he could simply swing most of the way there, but he needed to wait until tomorrow before revealing that Spidey was alive, some of the people he knew might get suspicious otherwise.

So he took a taxi halfway there instead, and walked the rest.

"Damn my chest feels like it's on fire." He mumbled to himself, nearly wishing that he hadn't insisted on leaving Harry's so soon.

His friend had put up a fight, trying to make him stay, but he had refused politely until Harry had given up. MJ hadn't been very fond of him leaving either; especially when she knew that he would be web slinging again tomorrow.

Peter smiled at the thought of the red head, he still couldn't believe that they were together now, and that she new about his alter-ego.

Quite suddenly, Peter found himself in front the Bugle building. He stared up at the skyscraper and heaved a mighty sigh, there was going to be hell to pay. He hoped that JJ didn't lay into him too bad, he was still tired and wanted to just lie down and sleep some more.

After a short ride in the elevator, Peter reached his floor and walked apprehensively towards Betty Brant's desk.

"Peter!" She exclaimed, rushing around her desk and stopping in front of him. "Jonah is beside himself with anger, where were you? I really hope you got some real good shots, because it's going to take a lot to calm him down…" She rambled.

Peter smiled wearily and waved his portfolio in front of her face.

She smiled nervously and waved him into the office. "Good luck…" She said quietly as he walked past her.

JJ was staring at a copy of his own newspaper. "Robbie? I need _DECENT_ pictures; these are a bunch a crap and-PARKER!" Jonah roared upon realizing who it was.

Peter winced, almost taking a step back.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN? SPIDERMAN GETS SHOT AND YOU DECIDE TO TAKE A 5 DAY VACATION? YOU'RE FIRED!" Jonah yelled, biting down on his cigar so hard that it broke in half.

Pete didn't say a word, but threw the portfolio down on his desk. "Sorry these are late." He said simply. _Thank god I station my camera's periodically through the city; I never would have had the time to set these up…_

Jonah grabbed the portfolio and started to flip through the pictures.

Peter cringed at the sight of his own self, sprawled on the pavement like a rag doll, bleeding madly. Jonah stopped at one picture in particular, which depicted the gunman standing over Spiderman with a gun pointed at his head.

"You're unfired." Jonah said gruffly as he set the portfolio down, his anger subsiding slightly. The shots were good, and he couldn't afford to lose Parker. The photographers' absence had brought that to light.

Peter smiled wanly and said, "I really am sorry that these came so late, but my aunt was rushed to the hospital; she fell down some stairs and went into a brief coma. It looked pretty serious for a few days."

Jonah eyed him for a minute, viewing his haggard appearance, and then said gruffly, "Just don't let it happen again."

Peter nodded and began to walk out, when he stopped and said over his shoulder, "By the way, Spiderman isn't dead."

"How would you know?"

"Well, he knows where I live, and I got a note from him, saying that he's fine, and to stop printing that he is allegedly dead…because he is very much alive. Here…I brought the note for you to see." Peter said offhandedly, tossing the crumpled piece of paper onto the editor's desk.

"I'll see you later, sir." Peter smiled as he walked out of the office, past Betty and to the elevator, leaving the stunned editor in his wake.

_**Peter's Apartment, Later That Night **_

Peter was just about to crawl into bed when there was a knock on his door. He groaned inwardly and did up his jeans, which he had been in the process of taking off. He glanced over at his t-shirt and shrugged, to lazy to put it on; he answered his door shirtless, with only the bandage covering his bare chest.

He opened it a crack, not wanting to let anyone see his bandaged chest. "MJ?" Peter said in surprise, opening the door wider and inviting her inside.

"Hey, Peter. I just thought I'd come over and see how you were doing." She smiled as he closed the door behind her. She stood on her tippy-toes and gave him a quick peck kiss before sitting on the double bed.

Peter grinned tiredly, "I'm better now that you're here."

MJ patted the bed, motioning for him to sit down.

He groaned lightly as he sat; his tired legs grateful for a break. "Walking becomes more exhausting when you're used to swinging everywhere." He joked lightly.

MJ laughed softly, brushing a piece of bang out of her eyes as she did so.

Peter chuckled, but stopped abruptly as pain shot through his chest.

"Are you sure that you should go out as Spidey tomorrow?" MJ asked, extremely concerned.

"Yeah, I'll be fine…don't you worry." Peter replied, touched by her concern. "You know…that shirt looks really good on you." He added, eyeing the green t-shirt that she wore, it hugged every curve and brought out the green in her eyes.

"Thanks…" MJ grinned mischievously and stroked his bare arm, tugging him forward gently for a kiss.

Peter didn't hesitate and soon found himself kissing the girl of his dreams more passionately than ever before. He suddenly didn't feel so exhausted anymore.

Mary-Jane moaned softly in his gentle embrace and fell back into the bed, pulling him with her. "God Pete, I love you so much…" She whispered between the kisses.

"I love you too…" He murmured back, running his hands through her red locks.

MJ slowly reached for his jeans and began to undo them. It was at that point that she noticed him tremble slightly. "Pete…have you ever…you haven't. Have you?" She inquired, her emerald eyes observing him closely.

Peter only gave her a weak grin, and shook his head. _Man, I'm like 20 going on 21 and I'm still a virgin…I wonder what the headlines would think of that? I can see it now: SPIDERMAN STILL A VIRGIN, DETAILS INSIDE! _

"It's okay Peter, we don't have to do it." MJ whispered, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"N-no MJ…I want to…" He said, and he really did.

MJ smiled at his vulnerability, the invincible, hunky Spiderman was a virgin. It was cute, she liked it. She forced his head closer to her and kissed him again, her arms snaking down o his jeans. After successful pulling them down, Peter's hesitant hands were rolling up the shirt she wore.

He looked down at the red haired beauty with pure adoration, and she looked back at him, drinking in his amazing body and beautiful baby blue eyes. MJ rubbed his stomach, careful to avoid the gauze around his chest.

"Are you sure?" She asked again.

Peter grinned down at her, his confidence coming back to him. MJ would never judge him, would never make fun of him, she would always love and care about him, and that's all he needed.

"As sure as I am that I love you." He replied. _And that I'll always protect you. _

MJ reached over for her purse, and after a minute of fumbling, produced some protection.

Peter raised an eyebrow at her.

"Erm, well I wasn't sure if you know, anything would happen tonight and I just wanted to be safe…I don't usually carry these around or anything-" She stuttered, her face turning red.

Peter smiled and shook his head, before cutting her off in mid-sentence with a deep kiss.

_**Next Morning **_

Mary-Jane sat at the edge of the bed, the blankets curled around her to keep her warm. She watched as Peter moved about the one bedroom apartment, fully dressed in his Spidey costume, minus the mask.

"You know, my roommate is getting her own place, you could move in with me." She commented, her nose wrinkled in distaste at Peter's current living quarters. Hell, the landowner had woken them up at 8am by screaming, "RENT!" through the door.

Peter grinned and replied, "That'll be something to think about. I'm still not fully convinced that you'll be safe dating me. Living together is a completely different matter."

MJ frowned but didn't argue, she changed the subject instead. "Make sure you're careful out there, you're wound isn't completely healed yet." She said, recalling how he had removed the bandage earlier that morning. The area had been pretty red still.

"For the last time, don't worry." He said, but he was smiling all the same. He walked over and gave her a quick kiss before grabbing his mask and pulling it on.

MJ stared at him with wonderment, it still hard to come to terms with the fact that he really was Spiderman.

"So, I'll see you tonight then?" He inquired.

"My play ends at 9, meet me there...okay?"

"Sure thing…um, disturbance permitting…right?"

"If you're not there by 9:10 I'll take a cab to my place." She answered with a small smile.

Peter nodded, "You sure you can make it home alright?"

"I'm quite able to take care of myself." She replied with a wink.

"Oh, right." He said sheepishly before walking to the window. After a careful glance outside, he nodded at the red head and jumped over the balcony.

Mary-Jane heard him whooping along with the distant sound of sirens, and smiled as she got up and prepared to get ready for work.

**_Later That night _**

Peter let out a content sigh as he swung through the city. He was happy to be soaring above the people below him, even if there was work to be done. Crime had gone up since the shooting. It was great however, to see the looks on people's faces when they saw him….quite alive.

Peter let go of the web in his hand and allowed him to freefall towards the ground. He could vaguely hear the screams and whooping of people as he shot upwards again. Obviously a lot of New Yorkers had taken a likening to him.

Suddenly, his spider sense tingled and he changed his course of direction and swung to the right sharply. _Playtime is over_, he thought to himself as he spied a group of men harassing a young couple. Peter quickly dived towards the darkening alley and landed gracefully behind the group.

"Hey there!" He said brightly to the thugs, steering their attention away from the innocent man and woman.

The four looked at him, their mouths agape in shock.

"What? Don't you read the papers?" Peter commentated sarcastically, "I mean, you don't really have to read it or anything, just look at the pictures and you get the gist."

The men continued to stare at him.

Peter pretended to shift uncomfortably, "Listen, I know I do the spandex justice but MAN!"

At this implication, the men howled in fury and charged him, armed with one gun and two crowbars.

It took about 30 seconds for Peter to effectively beat them in a rather pathetic battle and web them up. "You know guys, that was pretty pathetic, I mean I was shot less than a week ago and I still beat all four of you without a scratch." He laughed.

"You guys will call the police right?" Peter turned, looking at the couple, who were still standing where the thugs had left them.

"Y-yes…" The woman stuttered.

Peter gave them a thumbs up and said, "Thanks!" before shooting a strand of webbing and propelling himself upwards.

He continued to swing through the city when it suddenly dawned on him that it was definitely past 9pm. MJ was probably still waiting or getting in a cab right now.

"Ohhhh man….I'm late. Crap, crap, CRAP!"

**Finis...**

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_Alright well that's it for this story. Sorry if the ending wasn't very satisfying; I'm not very good at endings._

_I thank everyone that read and reviewed, I really appreciate it!_

_I hope no one was offended by the mild sex scene I stuck in there. Oh and I just figured that Peter was a virgin since he never had a girlfriend (in the movies anyways), as for MJ...well since she dated Flash, Harry and almost got married, I assumed that she wasn't one. (Sorry if this is different from the comics!)_

_Anyways, I still want to write a POST SM2 Harry and Peter story (not slash), but I was wondering what you guys would like to see done? I was thinking like their both stuck in a bank robbery and they need to work together to get out, or some sort of kidnapping…hmmm my muse is running wild again!_

_I just want to see what you guys have always wanted to read about, so let me know! (Keep in mind it will be movie based because I've never read the comics!)_

_Thanks again and I'll cya around the site!_

_Ashley¤_


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